The Gospel for today's Mass in Matthew 25: 31-46 is a long one that one could spend hours on, days on, a lifetime meditating. It deals with the Last Judgment. It is this final call when we come, each as an individual responsible for our actions on earth, before the Almighty Judge. We will not be able to take the Fifth Amendment, we will not be able to confer with an attorney, we will not be able to blame someone else for what we, before God, are accountable. It is that time all should fear if they are failing to live their lives here on this finite planet in any way that differs from what Jesus asks and commands.
He has conferred this authority on His Holy Church, passed down through the centuries in the Roman Catholic Church as the only true Church with the four marks of one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. No other Church can claim that, not the Orthodox Church, not the American Church...only the Roman Catholic Church in full obedience to the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter on whom Our Lord designated as the first head of His Church (cf. Matthew 16: 15-18). Those who do not subscribe to this, cannot call themselves 'Catholic.' It's as simple as that.
Is this pride to say this? No, it is humility in totally submitting to the Authority Christ appointed. It is humility to subject ourselves to the teachings of the Church in full obedience. Ah, obedience! There's the rub. Are our bishops being obedient to Rome? For the most part, sad to say, we have to answer 'no!' Were they obedient, they would heed what His Holiness Pope John Paul II, 264th in the line of Peter, has called for: Strict adherence to God's Laws and the Doctrines of Holy Mother Church. No one has been more staunch in upholding the Sanctity of Life than this Polish Pontiff. He expects no less from those he has appointed as bishops. He expects all his shepherds to act with the authority and commitment of men like Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico City, who, despite repercussions that might result from his unyielding stand, has boldly and firmly stated that, "Anyone who promotes or practices abortion, including legislators and governors, will be excommunicated by the Church."
Have we heard that from the bishops in the United States? No, just politically correct rhetoric that says it's wrong, but no muscle behind their words. You wonder why nearly 70 so-called 'Catholic' senators and members of the House of Representatives, not to mention many governors and countless 'Catholic' politicians at the local level, continue to promote the culture of death by promoting, voting and legislating pro-abortion measures under the guise of "a woman's right to choose" without fearing any consequences. The answer is simple. Just like a child will not respect a parent who does not discipline them, so also these 'Catholic' politicians will not respect the Church for she has been afraid to get tough with these habitual sinners.
It is time for the bishops to extend mercy as Christ calls for, to petition the sinner to come forth and truly repent of his or her sin. We have respectfully recommended this time of Lent as the greatest time of His Divine Mercy and an ideal time for the bishops to issue moral mandates to these 'Catholic' men and women who persist in condoning sin. One cannot be Catholic and continue this pattern.
We are all human, we are all sinners. Christ came for sinners. He loves the sinner, but hates the sin. He has counseled us that we must do likewise. Not to counsel the sinner in love, not to condemn the sin is going against Christ and all He taught. We must stand and be counted. We have suggested the time of Lent and the Easter Season as a time of probation for these sinners to repent of their ways. If they persist in the sin, if they stubbornly ignore the counsel of the Church, then if they have not amended their ways by Pentecost Sunday, they must be EXCOMMUNICATED!
It is the only way! The soul of America is at stake, the soul of millions of Catholics are at stake, the soul of everyone is at stake. An interdict is the only way to show the Church means business. No other way will produce results short of a miracle!
Why does it have to be so? Why has it come to this drastic measure?
Since Vatican II the Church in the United States has been in a downward slide. Vocations have dropped off sharply, holy nuns are practically a thing of the past. Priests who used to preach from the pulpit in order to save souls are today entertaining and "soul brothers" with their congregations - passing off the pablum of peace and justice and interpreting dogma to fit their lifestyle rather than what Christ demands. It's all about feeling good, all about being one with each other - we are church, we are christs, we are gods. Heresy and Homosexuality are rampant in the Church in America today because satan has been allowed to run amok. Who is to blame? the bishops and pastors who have allowed this cancer to spread. Cancer does not heal itself. And there is a great cancer in high places of the episcopacy in the U.S. today.
Thank God we have Pope John Paul II and a faithful remnant of believers or the Catholic Church in America would be totally protestantized today. As it is there are many Lutheran churches that are more edifying than the monstrosities being built today. Some, such as the temple to the legacy of Cardinal Roger Mahony in LA, is an embarassment of the highest degree, built on blood money and scandal that hardly is pleasing to God. But that's for another editorial. Today we want to address what the bishops must do in order to reclaim the Church, in order to reclaim souls, in order to reclaim America for God.
As we wrote in our OPEN LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF AMERICA it is time to walk the walk. Enough with the talk. It has made no impression to this point. It is time for action. We are going to continue to be a 'thorn in the side' of the bishops, pricking their consciences and their comfort zones so that they will finally stand up for Christ before it's too late. We have had a tremendous groundswell of letters of support for our strong stance the bishops must take with these so-called 'Catholic' politicians.
We have implored the bishops of the United States to realize their own integrity is at stake if they fail to act, if they fail to call for an accountability from these pro-abort 'Catholic' men and women who are accomplices to murder. The bishops must ask these pro-aborts if their political careers are more important than the welfare of their souls? You will have the opportunity to ask these 'Catholic' pro-aborts yourselves for in each "Herod's Heroes" each day we are including the e-mails of the respective senators and members of the House of Representatives.
We are also publishing the names and addresses of the bishops responsible. In addition, in each installment we are also including Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's address. Rome needs to know of the refusal of many of America's bishops to carry out Canon Law, to carry out the teachings of the Church, to uphold God's Laws.
As we said on Ash Wednesday, it is time for these bishops to hold 'Catholic' pro-abort politicians accountable for their accomplice to the murder of so many innocent souls in the womb. We will not hesitate to equate these political leaders with the same crimes of Adolph Hitler for he, too, tried to justify ethnic cleansing. That is what abortion is, ethnic cleansing.
We have pointed out repeatedly to those who have accused us of being too harsh or those who are concerned that we are getting political: No, this is not a political statement but a moral one! It is a statement that, if we do not make it, we will have to answer to God when we stand before Him at the Final Judgment. This editor does not want to be considered an "unprofitable servant" and be cast forth "into the darkness outside, where there will be the weeping, and gnashing of teeth'" (cf. Matthew 25: 30).
And neither do we want anyone else to be cast into the darkness. That is why we are doing all in our power to be a light in the darkness of political correctness and compromise today. That is why we are willing to bear up under the slings and arrows of those who don't want their consciences tweaked. There are many in the Church who will say Excommunication is not the proper way to bring sinners back into the Church. In most cases they are right. That is why we have the wonderful, healing sacrament of Penance. But for those who do not respect the sacredness and importance of promising to sin no more in order to receive absolution from their sins from God through His minister the priest, then what other avenue is there?
For over 28 years it has been politically correct to accept abortion - murder in the womb - as legal. But not in the Church it isn't! Yet for 28 years our bishops have been too patient. Do they realize how many souls have been lost because of their failure to enforce discipline? We're not talking about the aborted babies, but their mothers, the abortionists, the legislators, those who have voted for pro-abort candidates, those who, by the Church's weak response, have either compromised their own values and morals or left the Church in despair or confusion. Yes, the bishops are responsible for these souls and will have to account for them when they come before the Almighty on Judgment Day.
Consider this: the Church excommunicated Martin Luther, Henry VIII and many, many others for sins far, far, far less severe than abortion in scope. The Church excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for disobedience, yet the bishops in America have been far, far more disobedient than this French prelate ever was. At least Archbishop Levebvre was faithful to the Doctrines of the Church.
We implore the shepherds of the Church today to be obedient to Rome and to shepherd the flocks as the Good Shepherd commands. If you and your flocks are to be among "the sheep on His right hand when He separates the flock from "the goats on the left" (cf. Matthew 25: 33). then you must heed His command to keep His Commandments. If you do not, then truly you do not love Jesus and you yourselves are guilty of hypocrisy and merit the abyss of gehenna.
Yes, those are pretty harsh words, but they are the truth and, in their hearts the bishops know this. So do these politicians we are exposing. We have had many e-mails, phone calls and letters of support for our meager, infitesmal effort to help wake up our shepherds. We have had a few negative ones. We've heard positively from a few bishops but they are careful not to criticize their own peers. Most of the bishops have remained silent, perhaps dismissing The DAILY CATHOLIC as a drop in the ocean that will merit no attention; perhaps believing that we are raving right-wing lunatics who are so orthodox that no one will take us seriously because they have truly not understood the Gospel, because their Faith over the past 30 years has been compromised so in America by a tolerance for sin from the chanceries on down to secular society.
We don't pretend to be The New York Times; we don't have aspirations to be a sensational tabloid or to gain notoriety and fame through this publication. We intend only to do what is Right! Before God and man we want to stand confidently and hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25: 23).
The path we have chosen is a true Calvary. It is never easy going against the grain. But we take courage from the truths of Catholic doctrine, we take strength from the many prayers offered and the millions of Rosaries raised by a lay family with no help from the hierarchy, we take encouragement from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen's words, "Humility is required to challenge mediocrity; one must be ready to brave the taunts of those who knock anyone in the head who raises himself above the level of the masses. Mediocrtiy can be a terrific form of tyranny, and it has a thousand and one penalties for those who forsake the external standards for an inward change of heart to a line of conduct above the level. When a thousand people are walking to the edge of an abyss, the one who is seen walking in the opposite direction is taunted for not following the mob. We must be humble to bear up under these reproaches and dare to be right when the majority is wrong."
In the case of abortion, the majority is wrong and all loyal Catholics must dare to be right! Are you prepared for the brickbats that will be launched at you? Are you prepared to be ridiculed for rising above mediocrity? Are you prepared to go against the grain for Christ? If not, then how can you call yourself Catholic? This is the Cross Jesus asks us to carry daily and to compromise, to seek to ease disciplines, to seek to go along with the majority in the Church and in society is selling out. You are either with Jesus or against Him. You can't be both.
Many will say 'Get off your pulpit! Who are you to judge?' And that's fine, because we don't. It's a fine line between criticizing and judging. We do not judge these men and women, we do not judge the bishops. Only God can judge. But we do criticize these men and women who persist in promoting the culture of death and we will continue to criticize the shepherds who do not live up to their calling. We call on you to do likewise, not in gossip and innuendo, not in destructive ways, but in constructive ways for all that we are all concerned about are souls.
The path the Church in America has been taking over these past thirty years is greatly jeopardizing souls. We can no longer sit back and passively do nothing. Whatever the bishops have been doing over the past three decades isn't working. Accountability has been put on the shelf. It is time for us to act responsibly, it is time for the bishops to act responsibly, it is time for the pastors to act responsibly, it is time for all loyal Catholics to act responsibly, and it is time for all political persons who call themselves Catholic to act responsibly.
The Final Judgment, our ultimate elucidation of our life, is nearer than you may think. Isn't it better we evaluate where we're heading now rather than later? It is time for all - the 'Catholic' pro-abort politicians, the bishops and the faithful to account for their accountability. When push comes to shove, we will be responsible for how we lived the Gospel fully. Let's start living it uncompromisingly and help return the Church to her glory and save countless souls. We can't do it alone! We need God's help and yours to move mountains. Are you willing to be a mustard seed who believes?
Time is of the essence. The clock is ticking towards Pentecost Sunday, toward the time of the Final Judgment treated in today's Gospel. To all loyal Catholics, to 'Catholic' pro-abort politicians, and to the shepherds responsible for these souls: Do you want to be among the goats on the left, or the sheep on the right? We know what happens to the former. Christ has clearly affirmed this. It's up to you. Left or Right?